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Tips for Two-Tone spraying?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dutch-Martin
  • Start date Start date
D

Dutch-Martin

Guest
Hi all,

im working on my `87 GS-450L that still has a lot of work, thats how i ended up her anyway, but now im getting closer to have it running perfect, im making plan's about the paint job...

I have a few ideas in my head about the paint; black engine and frame, some chrome and a vintage 2-tone color for the tank, side-panels and front-fender...

Now i did some spraying the last years, but mainly 1 color per part... But my question is:

If you want to spray a 2-color tank, vintage '50-'60 style bleu with white side parts, do you paint the tank white first, and then tape the parts that has to remain white, before spraying the bleu? Or do you spray the white on the bleu after tape-ing the rest of the whole tank?

And won't there be a hight difference? or will that be gone after the clear varnish?

Greetings Martin
 
I always do the white last. That way it stays clean. You'd be amazed at what shows up on white when you start handling it. Spray the blue, mask it, spray the white, un-mask and spray the clear immediately.
 
I followed Larry's (and others) advice and did the white stripes over the top of the pearl read for my 450 and it worked a treat (these are drying in the sun after clear coat):

IMG_3864.jpg


IMG_3861.jpg
 
As far as the height difference, before spraying the clear, I very lightly wet-sanded along the edges between the two colors with 1500 grip wet/dry paper until I could barely feel the edge with my finger. Then, after clearcoating and wetsanding that to the finished surface, the height difference is non-existent.
 
I always paint the smaller parts (e.g., stripes) first, then tape them off.

Another tip for two-color work, after you tape off an area, hit the part with a quick coat of whatever color you just taped off.

So if you paint the blue first, when you tape off the blue to start the white, hit the tape with blue first. That helps seal the tape edges because any bleed through will come from the first coat (i.e., the blue).
 
Now those are tips i can work with! Many thx all! :)

was wondering about the bleed-trough-tape, had many problems with that in 1 previous spray job, but spraying the same paint first... so simple, but never ever thought about it... :o

...wish i could start sanding and spraying tonight, my hands are itching now...
 
Dutch-Martin said:
Now those are tips i can work with! Many thx all! :)

was wondering about the bleed-trough-tape, had many problems with that in 1 previous spray job, but spraying the same paint first... so simple, but never ever thought about it... :o

...wish i could start sanding and spraying tonight, my hands are itching now...
Click to expand...

Others have recommended hitting it with a thin coat of clear after taping off to seal the edges. I was worried about bleed through too, but I taped off with pin striping and had no bleed through whatsoever. I did not seal it off with clear or anything. I painted with the color that covered the largest areas first, then taped off leaving exposed the areas of the new color. I used pinstriping at the very edge, then overlapped the pinstripe with masking tape, then followed up with newspaper to cover the larger areas. Worked like a charm.
 
I always use painters-tape from the local car parts-store, where i buy the spraypaint, but i did get some bleed-trough with it... the 3m is better? i think i can get it here somewhere, 3m is a common brand here...
 
I don't like the green tape you get at the parts stores. It is pretty good for sealing, but even used on paint that had dried for days before using that tape, I always manage to pull a divot when I remove the tape.

3M has a "delicate finish" tape for trim work that I like much better. It seals pretty well (though I still hit the edges with the "base" color after taping) and is much gently on the paint you have taped over.
 
Tape is one of the most important things people really need to spend some money on. Seriously. 3M brand tape from an auto paint store is the best you can get..not the hardware store variety, even if it is 3M. It costs about 6-7 bux a roll for 1", 8-10 bux for 2", but it's worth every dime. 3M Fineline plastic tape is the stuff to get for striping..it can run as high as 16 bux a roll for 1/16", but again, is such a good product and leaves perfectly crisp lines. They save time, effort, they don't leave gummy residue, and they won't peel paint (if the surface was prepared correctly to begin with) when you pull it off. Blue painter's tape is made for walls, not body pieces. It's too "paper-y" and can actually cause harm to the surface it's applied to. Hate to sound like a tape snob, but believe me when I tell you..don't scrimp on tape..get the good s--t. ;)
 
nvr2old said:
Tape is one of the most important things people really need to spend some money on. Seriously. 3M brand tape from an auto paint store is the best you can get..not the hardware store variety, even if it is 3M. It costs about 6-7 bux a roll for 1", 8-10 bux for 2", but it's worth every dime. 3M Fineline plastic tape is the stuff to get for striping..it can run as high as 16 bux a roll for 1/16", but again, is such a good product and leaves perfectly crisp lines. They save time, effort, they don't leave gummy residue, and they won't peel paint (if the surface was prepared correctly to begin with) when you pull it off. Blue painter's tape is made for walls, not body pieces. It's too "paper-y" and can actually cause harm to the surface it's applied to. Hate to sound like a tape snob, but believe me when I tell you..don't scrimp on tape..get the good s--t. ;)
Click to expand...

I don't know much about tape nor the difference between stores but would the stuff you find at OReilly's or Autozone be okay? Or should you go some place more specific to auto painting?
 
There are so many levels of quality when it comes to tape. The hardware store variety just isn't the same quality as the tape that you buy exclusively at auto paint stores, which is specifically designed for auto body use. It's the priciest, but the quality is unsurpassed. It can be left on for days at a time w/o worry of harming the paint under it or not coming off cleanly when you do peel it off. There's absolutely no bleed-through, either. Same with masking paper. I, too, used newspaper for years, but after using real auto body grade masking paper, which is really inexpensive, I never used newspaper again. Newspaper has tons of fuzz on it, it tears easily and paint soaks through it..not so, in any case, with auto body grade masking paper. It even comes in 6"-36" widths..making masking quick and easy. Both, the correct tape and paper, make the job SO much easier and cleaner in the long run. Even the 3M Fineline tape that I mentioned, is "the" stuff to use for masking any kind of striping. It's extremely flexible, comes in many widths, and should never be replaced by using "decorative" pinstriping tape that you get at O'Reilly's and such. That tape is meant to stay on and not come off. The Fineline really sticks, too, but it pulls off beautifully, as it's designed to.
 
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* Trows his tape over the balcony... * ;)

Im ordering both 3M`s, ill see how it goes. Indeed, its better to spent some more Euro`s ( of Dollars ) for better tools or whatever, it always pays itself back. Thx for the tips!

Spraying is an art, imho, respect to those who do it for a job, they make it seem so easy...
 
I'll have to check into the 3M stuff next time but I had no problem with the "decorative" pinstriping. It sealed good and came off just fine. I guess I may have been lucky this time.
 
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